Dear Arthur,
Just a line to let you know I have arrived here in Wilhelmshaven O.K. last
Friday evening. We left U.K. on the Friday after I left you on the Monday. We
arrived at Ostend and spent nearly 3 days in an army transit camp. Whilst we
were there we were able to go to Blankenberg on Whit. Sunday.

It is a really lovely Belgian holiday resort. Whit. Monday morning we started
out about 8 a.m. on our road journey to Hamburg. We had to go there first as it
is an R.N. distributing centre. The army took good care of us as we went in
convoy of 8 lorries, about 14 of us to each, and it took us three days to get
there.

It was really a very interesting trip, going thro' the battlefields of Europe
so soon after the surrender. The route or at least the main towns we went thro'
were Ostend, Ghent, Antwerp, Eindhaven, Goch, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the
rivers we crossed were the lower reaches of the Rhine, the Weser, and the Elbe.
The first night on the road we stayed at a brick works at Eindhaven in Holland.
It is not a bad town, a large Phillips radio factory there had been knocked.
The first German town we passed thro' was Goch, it was just flat - a mass of
ruins.

The outskirts of Bremen and Hamburg were not too badly damaged, but the centres
were just mile after mile of complete devastation. I've never seen anything
like it before in all of my life -- Sebastapol wasn't in it. We started for
here on Thursday but our lorry broke down after part of the journey, so didn't
make it until Friday eve. The docks here are not too badly damaged, but the
town is flat. Our quarters or barracks are in the harbour area, they are ex
U-boat crew's quarters. There are 6 of us to a cabin. We have two-tier beds, a
wardrobe each, tables, chairs, reading lamps, but unfortunately no wireless.

Wilhelmshaven is to be the port where the German Fleet is to surrender, and to
be kept under guard. Already the Pring Eugen & the Nuremberg are here
besides many U-boats. There are certainly quite a lot of German matelots and
marines here and I certainly don't trust them. If we go ashore we must go in
pairs and carry our rifles with us. Or we can go to a forces cinema show, there
and back by bus, that is the only entertainment here so far. I'm on telephone watch
here, and in 4 watches, it is pretty good. Last Sunday we had divisions and
church, all over in 20 minutes. The skipper is a real good fellow, he spoke to
us for a few moments and then said dismiss for church! Everyone was amazed at
no inspection.

Well, how are things going with you? Are you still in barracks? I hope you got
your Whit. interim leave. I think that is all of my news for now, so I will say
cheerio for the present, and wish you all the best.
Cheerio.
Yours,
Raymond

David Walsh added:
“I was born in early 1947 and can still remember the ‘Pig Bins’ that use to be
located on every street, and people were still using ration books at that time.
I still have an Identity Card which puts the present governmental intents for
re-introduction of these into better perspective.

I can still remember the stories from my mum about her brother’s experiences of
landing in the Far East and being immediately put into a concentration camp.

The wives of those involved originally are still alive today, but I have not
included their addresses to preserve their anonymity.”